Caught In Between
by Sylvermist
Summary: Ino helps Naruto in getting over his crush on Sakura and they start to spend more time together since then. Certain feelings slowly arise to them, but some people just don't like seeing them together, especially this certain girl. NarutoxIno
1. Chapter 1

**Chapter 1**

In the village of Konohagakure, among the villagers who were doing their activities as the sun went down, there was a certain blonde boy who was running enthusiastically, his foxy grin never left his face. He was happy for some reason, though it was the same grin he wore everyday. It was one of his many thew. He tried his best to make a way through the crowd to chase down a certain person, shouting her name in the process.

"Sakura-chan!" Naruto shouted her name for the umpteenth time yet to no avail. The pink haired girl just kept walking without giving a single reaction that indicated that she heard him. Naruto couldn't blame her though, considering he was in the middle of a crowd where everyone was talking and their voices all blended together.

The blonde boy fastened his pace to the fullest until he got out of the crowd. Sighing in relief, he continued in a slower pace to approach the pink haired girl. He skidded to a stop right in front of her, making her startled and stopped. He bowed down and rested both palms on his knees as he panted in exhaustion.

Seeing her teammate's behaviour, Sakura raised an eyebrow in a questioning manner. "What is it, Naruto?"

Instead of answering, Naruto held his hand in front of her face as a sign that she should wait. Sakura waited as he tried to regulate his breathing, until he finally became calmer and got up. Surprisingly, he was now grinning widely, showing off his white teeth.

"Sakura-chan! Let's go for a dinner together!" he said enthusiastically, or rather, shouting which brought attention to a few people around them.

Sakura looked around uncomfortably, feeling embarrassed by his manner. She replied in a low tone. "Naruto, no need to say it out loud."

Naruto's grin dropped and looked around, noticing some gazes were aimed at him. He scratched the back of his head and chuckled sheepishly.

The pink haired girl let out a sigh and smiled. "To answer you previous statement; yeah, sure. Why not?"

Naruto's blue eyes widened as he heard this. Was that true? Sakura accepted his dinner invitation? Was this some kind of dream? For a moment, he thought that his ears had bluffed him, but he was very certain that she said 'yes'.

To clear things up, he asked her. "Did you just say 'yes'?"

Sakura nodded slowly while giving him a weird look. To her surprise, Naruto made a little jump and punched his fist into the air while exclaiming loudly. "YES!"

Seeing his actions had drawn another attention to the people around them, Sakura covered his mouth with her palm and widened her green eyes threateningly. "Didn't I tell you not to yell?" she hissed, making Naruto froze in an instant.

Naruto, seeing the death glare which was sent directly to him, gulped and nodded. Pissing her off was a very bad idea and just by thinking about what punishment will he receive made him shiver. Having his arm broken would still be considered lucky if we're talking about angry Sakura. Finally, she looked calmer and she released his mouth from her hand. Trying not to make another fuss, she asked in a normal tone. "So, where do yo want to eat?"

The blonde seemed thinking for a moment before he clicked his fingers enthusiastically. "I know! We should eat at Ichiraku Ramen!"

Sakura raised an eyebrow at the suggestion. "Ramen again? Aren't you bored with that stuff?"

"Nope." Naruto shook his head and grinned proudly. He loved ramen so much that he was never bored eating it. He had grew fond of Ramen ever since the first time his teacher, Iruka-sensei, introduced the noodle to him. He was grateful for it.

Seeing there was no way to separate the guy and his favorite food, Sakura merely shrugged. She didn't mind eating ramen, actually, so she didn't try to change his mind either. "Okay, then. Let's go."

Naruto punched his fist into the air for the second time and shouted inaudibly (as it would prevent him from getting punished by Sakura) while the pink haired girl walked forward past him. Realizing the girl had made a considerable distance between them, Naruto catched up to her and shouted her name in the process, much like what he did before.

"Wait for me, Sakura-chan!"

By the time they got to Ichiraku Ramen, they took seats in front of the counter. They were the only people who were there at the moment. Their surrounding was silent except the sound of the chef working behind the counter and steamed foods. Upon noticing their arrival, an old man with tanned skin and grey hair approached them. He was smiling widely that it made his eyes squinted into a mere line.

"Naruto!" he greeted happily before turning his gaze to Sakura. "And Sakura! What a wonderful surprise."

Naruto grinned and laughed sheepishly while scratching the back of his head. Realizing there were only two of them, he asked the couple in a teasing manner. "Are you two on a date?"

The blonde was about to answer when Sakura preceded him. "No, it's not a date. We're just here for a regular dinner."

Hearing this, Naruto's grin dropped instantly and he stared at Sakura in disbelief, a hurt expression was clearly on his face. He was expecting it to be a date, and he was very happy earlier with the thought that Sakura accepted his date invitation. But now that he realized that wasn't what Sakura had in mind, he was greatly disappointed. It hurt so much that he wasn't able to speak.

"Oh, is that so? Well, I always thought you two suited for each other. Too bad," Teuchi said, not realizing that his words had pierced Naruto right on the head.

Sakura laughed. "No, we're not in that kind of relationship. We're just friends, right Naruto?" she elbowed her teammate.

"Huh? Oh... yeah..." Naruto replied gloomily. He couldn't bear to look into her eyes, as he was staring down at the table.

Realizing the blonde's change of mood, Sakura asked innocently. "What's wrong with you?"

Naruto looked away and murmured slowly, barely audible. "Nothing."

Deciding not to mark that as a problem, Sakura merely shrugged it off and turned to Teuchi. "Ramen for two please."

"Coming right up!"

* * *

Sakura got out of the small shop, waiting for Naruto outside. She could hear Teuchi's voice from the inside telling them to come again next time. A moment later, the boy she was waiting for got out too with a frown on his face, but more to a gloomy expression. She had noted the mood switch ever since they started eating. It wasn't like him to mope around like that, the Naruto she knew was always cheerful and had a silly grin on his face. However, it changed drastically tonight. She could tell clearly that something was bothering him, but she just couldn't grasp it. She had questioned this to him earlier, but all she got was a 'nothing' answer or he would just shook his head or even looked away. And what's more surprising was that he barely touched his ramen. He _did_ eat it, but he was eating it slowly without any appetite. Teuchi offered him another bowl, which he refused. The old man was _very _surprised, as much as Sakura was. That was intolerable. It was the highest point of his weirdness. Sakura was sure that his problem must be something very big to cause him refusing a ramen. This made Sakura concerned.

Deciding to ask one more time in hope that he would answer truthfully, Sakura tried again. "Okay Naruto, your attitude scares me. I know something's bugging you and don't try to deny it because I can tell clearly from how you act. And I know it must be something big since you _refused _a ramen! For god's sake, this is _not _you!"

Naruto eyed her from the corner of his eyes before turning to fully faced her. "Sakura-chan," he started. "Do you like me?"

Surprised by the sudden question, Sakura was silent for a moment, before spoke again. "Why, all of a sudden?"

"Just answer it," Naruto replied shortly. This was another strange behavior of his. It was very unusual for him to give a curt answer like that to her.

Sakura was beginning to confused even more, but she answered anyway. "Yeah, of course. I do like you as a friend."

'As a _friend._' Naruto repeated the words to himself. He snorted and looked away. "I thought so..."

"What is this all about?" Sakura asked again. She can't get him, she can't catch what was in his mind. It confused plus concerned her.

The blonde turned to her, squinting his eyes while Sakura had her eyes all wide. "What do _you _think this is all about? I thought I was supposed to be the happiest guy tonight but now I know that I'm the most miserable one."

Sakura shook her head. "What are you talking about? I don't understand."

"Sakura-chan." Naruto sighed. "I asked you on a dinner earlier because I was expecting a date."

Soon, her green eyes grew in surprise and realization. Naruto expected this dinner to be a date, yet she only thought it was a regular dinner and even told Teuchi that they weren't on a date. No wonder he got all moppy since then. She was his source of mood swing and she hated that fact. And now, although she regretted everything, from what she told to Teuchi even to accepting Naruto's invitation, there was nothing she could do. She wished she could return his feelings, but the truth told her that she was still in love with Sasuke. She felt bad for Naruto. In addition, she was also feel sorry for herself for being stucked with her feelings for the dark haired boy even after years of his departure.

"I—I'm sorry, Naruto..." she stated slowly. "I don't like you _that _way."

Naruto remained silent, merely looked down on his shoes, and his act made Sakura felt guilty. She knew that she could never return his feelings as long as her feelings was still for the Uchiha, and the fact made her even guiltier.

Sakura tried to spoke. "Look, even if I can't return your feelings we could still be friends. I'm sorry, but I just want to keep it that way Naruto."

The blonde nodded slowly. "I get it. You still like Sasuke, don't you?"

Taken aback at the question, Sakura didn't reply and this time, she looked down on the ground. He was right. The statement had pierced her right on her head. Naruto nodded again, understanding and realizing that he indeed didn't have any chance at all. Even after all the times they had spent together and all of his attempts on saving her during their missions wasn't paid off in the end. He felt pity for himself.

He exhaled heavily, like releasing all of his burden that lay within him, then smiled. But it wasn't the smile that he wore everyday, it was a forced smile that hid pain behind it, and Sakura didn't like seeing it.

"Well, that was a nice dinner. Thank you for tonight, Sakura-chan! I'm having so much fun. See you tomorrow." He quickly spun around and walked away, not even waiting for an answer.

"Wait, Naruto!"

Sakura's voice calling for his name reached his ears afterward but he ignored it and fastened his pace instead. She called again. "Naruto!"

This time, he began running and jumped away, leaving no traces of his existence to the pink haired kunoichi who was chasing him. Sakura stopped, still gazing at the spot where he used to stand. She felt guilty, even more than before seeing how her teammate reacted after she answered his confession. She just hoped that it wouldn't damage their friendship.

* * *

Naruto lay down on his bed, burrying his face into the pillow. When he was out of breath, he rolled over his body and stared blankly at the ceiling. His arms were put behind his head. Many thoughts started crossing his mind.

'Maybe it's time to move on,' he thought to himself. 'But how? I already liked her since I was still in the academy. Easier to say than done, damn it.'

He got up and sat still, scratching his head even though it didn't feel itchy. 'Maybe I should ask someone whose expert at this thing. But who the hell could it be?'

He pulled his blonde hair in stress, groaning loudly in process, bringing his head forward until it landed on the bed's surface and buried it again. Suddenly, he heard someone knocked on the door.

_Knock knock._

The blonde startled and looked around quickly. As he heard the sound again, he had no doubt that there was someone on the front door. He can't help but wondered; who was it? Was there even any _possible _person who would visit him at half to nine in the evening? It was something very unusual. He hardly had any visitor at night, let alone at day time.

He got up from the bed, switching the kitchen's light on and proceeded to the front door. He unlocked it and opened it, he was soon greeted by a familiar face yet the one he never expected to be there. He met face to face with a friend of his; Yamanaka Ino.

"Ino?" Naruto raised a confused eyebrow.

"Hi, Naruto," the blonde girl greeted with a smile. "I hope you don't mind me coming to your house this late."

Naruto, obviously still confused, eyed her for a moment before nodded and let her in. As soon as she was inside, he closed the door and motioned her to take a seat on the dining table. She obeyed, followed by Naruto afterward who sat across her. Naruto just gazing at her without a word. Concluding that Naruto didn't seem like he would open the conversation, Ino spoke up.

"You see, I'm here to...to um..." she trailed off, not knowing how to say her purpose of being there, leaving Naruto confused even more. Originally, Sakura came to her earlier and told her everything that happened between them. She was worried for the blonde boy and sent Ino to his house merely to check on him, because from what Sakura could point out by seeing his actions earlier, she could clearly tell that he wasn't okay. She noticed Naruto was raising an eyebrow at her.

"What is it?"

'Damn... I can't possibly tell him that I'm here because Sakura sent me,' Ino thought to herself. 'Focus Ino. Focus. Make up a good lie.'

"Um... I was just passing by and decided to say hi," Ino finally replied and grinned at him, while inside she was cursing herself for being so stupid to choose an obvious lie like that. She was sure that even Naruto wouldn't buy that excuse.

Just as expected, the blonde boy furrowed his eyebrows. "No way, I know that's not it. Come on, tell me the truth."

'I knew it...' Ino bit her lips, thinking of whether she should answer truthfully or not. Deciding there was no point in hiding it either, she sighed before spoke up. "Sakura told me what happened earlier. And I came here as a _kind _friend, just to check on whether you're okay or not."

Finally, the truth was revealed. She was kind of relief by the little fact. She purposedly left the detail that Sakura was the one who told her to go there since, who knows, it might cause another trouble. She decided it was the best choice to keep it muted.

"Is that it?" was Naruto's answer to her truthful statement. Ino twitched her eyebrows.

"You should be thankful that I'm willing to go to your house at this time of night just to check on you when I should be on my bed for my beauty sleep!" she hissed, folding her arms across her chest.

"Alright, alright I'm sorry!" Naruto held his hands out in defeat. Having a girl mad at you really was a bad idea. He then continued with a sweet fake smile. "Thank you, Ino-chan."

"Yeah, yeah." Ino waved her hand before him. "Back to the topic; how do you feel?"

No longer joking this time, his expression changed down again, which was noticed by Ino straight away. "I'm fine. No need to worry about me."

"From what I could see right now, I know you're not okay, Naruto."

Naruto looked away, avoiding an eye contact because he was scared that the girl will know more if he didn't. He closed his eyes, but soon opened them again as a thought came to his mind. "That's right!" The blonde boy slapped his hand at the table and leaned forward. "Now that you're here, you could help me!"

"Help you what?" Ino had to moved her head backward because Naruto's face was too close to hers.

"Help me to move on dattebayo!"

"Huh?" Ino looked at him as though he was joking, but his face was serious and he nodded reassuringly to her. Helping someone to move on? It wasn't something foreign. She could say that the task was still in her range. It wasn't a hard task either since her role here was only to help him, so she found no reason to refuse it. Besides, it was always nice to hear out other people's love problems.

The blonde girl didn't hesitate at all as she answered. "Of course, I'll help you out."

Her answer seemed to lift up the boy's mood as he was grinning excitedly at her. "Thanks a lot, Ino!'

Surprised by the sudden change, she smiled back at him and silently praising herself for being able to lift someone's mood so quickly. The boy was no longer all moppy and down like he was earlier, he was now eager and happy. Who would've thought that accepting to help him could bring such a big impact?

'Maybe Sakura would be happy to hear this.'

* * *

Sakura was waiting outside Naruto's apartment building, hiding behind a pillar. She was expecting Ino to come out in no more than ten minutes but it was already past fifteen minutes yet there wasn't any sign of her. The pink haired girl let out a sigh and turned her body around, leaning her back against the pillar. She gazed at the rounded, pale moon in the dark blue sky. Her mind flew far away to her own thoughts.

While her mind was too occupied, she didn't notice her best friend's presence behind her. Ino tapped her shoulder and called her. "Sakura."

The action startled Sakura. "Ino! Don't scare me like that!"

"Me? Scaring you? Hey, you're the one who was spacing out. I was just simply taking you out of your own thoughts," Ino retorted, folding her arms.

Sakura sighed in defeat. "Yeah... Sorry, I was too occupied there."

Ino swung an arm in front of her face. "Never mind. Now hear this, Naruto asked for my help."

The pink haired girl frowned at the hanging sentence. "Help what?"

"Help him with his problem, dear. He's trying to move on from you!"

Sakura was silent. But when she realized that it would definitely be better for both of them as she wouldn't hurt him and he wouldn't be hurt either, she smiled at her best friend.

"Really? That's great!" She stopped, remembering something. "But, did he look sad or something?"

Ino shook her head reassuringly. "Nope, not at all. In fact, he was happy. Although yes, he did look down and moppy when I first saw him, but then I managed to lift his mood up by doing almost nothing! I'm proud of my own self." She grinned proudly at her.

Sakura chuckled at the last sentence. She felt relief feeling gushed over her. She was feeling guilty ever since she watched Ino entering the building—no, she felt guilty since she saw how Naruto reacted after she turned him down earlier. She didn't want it to wreck their friendship, since she had consider him as her closest friend aside from Ino. After all, they grew up together as Team 7.

Her thoughts interrupted as she heard Ino's voice. "Well, I'm sure my job here is done. I'm going home now, it's getting late. Anything to say before I go?"

The pink haired girl was a bit startled. She remembered something and answered. "O—Oh yeah... Thanks, Ino."

Ino smiled in satisfaction as she finally got what she want. "Never a problem. Now, go home and have some rest. No need to think about this anymore, I'll make sure Naruto do what he has to do," Ino said, winking at the green eyes.

Sakura nodded in reply. "Y—Yeah..."

The blonde gave her a smile. "See you tomorrow, Sakura!"

Sakura just nodded and smiled before waving at the blonde who had already walked away. Unlike her, she didn't go straight to her house however, she just stood at her place for a few minutes doing nothing but feeling the cold breeze brushed over her skin. She glanced at Naruto's apartment building, her thoughts suddenly drifted back to him. Even though Ino told her not to think about it, the scene of what happened between the two of them was still fresh and running in her mind. She wondered, how will she face him? Would it be awkward? Would he keep a distance or would he act like nothing happened? Moreover, she got this kind of feeling ever since Ino stated that she will help Naruto with this problem. For unknown reason, she felt that she shouldn't let Ino do that, yet her mind told her to let her be. This dissent confused her.

She shook her head to clear her thoughts and concerns before turning around to go back to her house. Maybe Ino was right, she might need some rest. She figured that it was the best decision. And she also figured that maybe she should follow her mind instead of her feelings, since she obviously had no reason to follow the latter.

* * *

Author's note: So, do you like it? I wrote this chapter for quite a long time because there's one time when I re-wrote it to improve the writing style and plot. I really want to make a good story. Please tell me what you think about it! Just one simple review is enough for me. :)


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2**

Ino was arranging and placing flowers in her family's flower shop that morning. She was told to prepare and open the shop by her mother, and she was almost done now. After putting the last bucket full of flowers, she smiled at them, satisfied by her own work.

Suddenly, she spotted a man standing in front of the shop, holding a basket full of roses. There were two types of roses in it; one of them was the red rose and the other was the white rose.

"A package for Mrs. Yamanaka," the man said to Ino, making her eyes lit up in recognition. It must be her mother's order.

"Ah, yes." She approached the man and took the basket in her hand. The man held out a board with a paper on it, and she immediately scribbled her signature on it. The man soon left after that.

Ino eyed the flowers in awe, noticing how beautiful they were. She put them neatly on the table, beside the other flowers she had put. Just as she did that, her mother appeared.

"Oh, it finally came," she said as she approached her daughter. She gestured at the white flowers. "Those white roses, someone ordered them two days ago."

Looking at the flowers, Ino asked curiosly. "Who?"

"A boy with brown hair whom I didn't recognize. Probably in the same age as you, or maybe a little older."

Many images started running in Ino's mind. A boy with brown hair? The same age as her? Could it be... Kiba or Neji? Or Shino? Or... Choji? The two latter sounded unconvincing though. Men usually buy flowers for the one they love, and she can't even imagine the two of them having a crush on a girl considering the first barely interact with one aside from Hinata, while the other thought about foods more than he thought about girls. She wondered how would they future be.

"Mom, that could be anyone."

Her mother seemed thinking for a moment. "Well, he was tall and his skin was tanned. What was his name again? Oh yes, Takashi Sato."

Ino twitched her eyebrow. Takashi Sato? She felt like she had heard the name somewhere before. She tried to dig in her memories but couldn't find the image of a brown haired boy with that name.

"I think that boy likes Sakura," her mother said again.

The blonde raised an amused eyebrow. "Really? How do you know?"

The older woman came closer to her and replied in a low tone, as if scared that someone would hear their conversation. "When he first came, he asked me if we sell any pink roses."

Ino's amused expression dropped instantly. "That doesn't prove anything, mom."

She hushed her, indicating that she wasn't finished yet and that she should listen to her first. "I said to him that it was out of stock and that he should wait for another week to get them. He looked disappointed and muttering something like 'too bad... those pink roses would match her pink hair well...' Then he decided to order the white ones instead because he didn't want to wait too long. Poor boy."

Ino was agape at her mother's short story before letting out a giggle. She kind of felt bad for the guy.

"Honey, could you watch the shop for a while? That Takashi boy would be here any time now to pick up his order."

"No problem, mom," Ino replied. "Besides, I'm quite curious of how he looks like. Is he handsome?"

The woman let out a chuckle before entering the house. Now that Ino was alone and got nothing better to do, she sat on a chair behind her and pulled out a set of manicure tools from the drawer of the table beside her. She mainly kept them there to keep her busy during times like this. As she was enjoying polishing her nails, she heard footsteps and seconds later, a guy was seen entering the shop. Ino instantly got up and put away her tools.

"Welcome," she greeted him.

The guy turned to her and smiled. Now that Ino got a better look on his face, she observed the guy; he was tall, had brown hair and tanned skin. He didn't seem like he was far older than her. She came up with a conclusion that he was Takashi Sato, the guy her mother was talking about earlier. Ino admitted, he didn't look bad. She came back from her thoughts as she realized the guy had approached her.

"Have my order came yet?" he asked. "I ordered white roses two days ago under the name of Takashi Sato."

She was right. This guy was Takashi Sato.

"Of course, the white roses. Wait for a moment." Ino walked up to the table where she put the roses. She gathered them and wrapped them up with a white paper, turning them into a bouquet. After she was done, she handed them to Takashi.

"Here you go," she said as he received them.

Takashi looked happy. "Ah, finally."

Ino watched as Takashi reached for his pocket to take out some money. She remembered what her mother said about this guy liking her best friend, Sakura. Not fully trusting her mother's word, she decided to ask it herself. As Takashi handed her the money, Ino received it and uttered what's on her mind.

"It may be none of my business, but may I ask who's the lucky girl?"

The guy looked a bit surprised but he smiled as he answered. "It's your friend, Sakura Haruno."

Ino pretended to be surprised by raising her eyebrows, though she can't hide the fact that she was surprised of how straightforward he was and that he knew that she was Sakura's friend. She didn't have any idea of who he was, yet he talked like they already met. She highly doubted that even Sakura knew him. Who exactly was this guy?

"You're probably wondering who am I, right?" he suddenly said, like he was able to read her mind.

The blonde merely shurgged. "Well, yeah... Not trying to be rude, but I don't know you."

"I'm not surprised, though." Takashi smiled. "I was an academy student like you and Sakura, but I graduated a year before you did. I have taken a notice on your friend ever since I was still there."

'No wonder,' Ino thought to herself. 'I thought I've heard his name somewhere, turns out he was a senior.'

Now that her big question had been answered, a new one started to appear in her mind. Seeing that there was a big possibility that he would answer it, she decided to ask.

"But why wait so long? It's been years since she was still there."

Much to Ino's surprise, Takashi was blushing as he scratched the back of his head. "Yeah, I know... Maybe I was too shy..."

Ino just nodded at his response. Suddenly, she spotted a blonde boy walking toward the shop and soon he was already inside. He grinned and waved his hand at her.

"Hey, Ino!" Naruto greeted happily. He stopped grinning however, as he realized that she wasn't alone there. Becoming uncomfortable, Takashi excused himself and thanked her before taking his leave. When there were only the two of them left, Naruto pointed at the guy's direction with his thumb and asked. "A customer?"

Ino nodded. "A customer who likes Sakura."

Naruto's eyes grew wide and he looked surprised. "He what?"

"He likes Sakura," Ino repeated. "He bought that flower for her."

As Naruto confirmed what he had heard, he did something that Ino never expected; he ran to the entrance of the shop and poked his head outside.

"Oi!" he yelled, calling for the brown haired boy

Takashi turned his head as he felt himself being called. As his eyes met with Naruto's, the blonde boy shouted again, this time somewhat mockingly. "Good luck man! You're gonna _need_ it!"

Not quite comprehending what he was talking about, he raised an eyebrow at him. Ino quickly grabbed Naruto's hand and pulled him inside. She widened her eyes at him. "What did you do that for?!"

Naruto shrugged nonchalantly. "Just wishing him a good luck. That dude certainly needs that to avoid being rejected like me."

Ino became silent as she remembered that. 'Poor Naruto,' she thought. 'he's still unable to get through his rejection.' She let out a sigh. She assumed that there's no reason to talk about that anymore since it won't make Naruto move on anyway. Deciding enough was enough, she changed the topic.

"So Naruto, why are you here?"

"I was passing by and decided to say hi," he replied innocently, much to Ino's annoyance.

"Funny," she replied sarcastically. "I know you're here for my help."

The blonde boy shrugged. "You got me."

Ino rolled her eyes. "You're predictable."

She looked around and realized that it wasn't the best place to talk. She turned to Naruto again and said. "Wait here, I'm going to tell my mom we're leaving."

Naruto just nodded and waited as Ino entered her house. A moment later, she was back. "Let's go."

* * *

Sakura got out of her house only to find a bouquet of white roses laid on the ground in front of her door house. She twitched her eyebrows in confusion, since she never encountered something like this before. She picked it up and noticed there was a card as well. She opened it and began reading.

_Dear Sakura_

_I like and adore you. Ever since I laid my eyes on you back at the academy, I was certain that I will never get a better picture of a person other than you. Your apparent beauty and elegance are just a reflection of your soul, which is what makes me like you even more. Please accept this roses as the sign of my love to you. _

_Takashi Sato _

The pink haired girl stared at the card for a few minutes, still twitching her eyebrows. She had no idea who this guy was. But since he mentioned the academy, she assumed that he was a student as well. She looked around but found no one. Judging by the appearance and the flowers, she was certain that Takashi bought it from Yamanaka Flower Shop.

'Maybe Ino knows who he is,' Sakura thought to herself. Deciding to ask her, she headed to her best friend's house with the bouquet in her hands.

When she came to the sight of the building, she entered it to find Ino's mother arranging flowers. She approached the older woman.

"Good morning, Mrs. Yamanaka."

Upon hearing her voice, the woman looked up and her eyes lit up. "Sakura! It's been a long time since you came here. How are you dear?"

"I'm fine, thank you," Sakura replied, smiling back.

"Glad to hear that. What brings you here?" Mrs. Yamanaka asked. Her eyes then drifted to Sakura's hands. "I see you have received it."

Sakura looked down at the bouquet. "Oh, this? Yes, I just got them. Do you recognize the guy who sent this?"

The woman frowned. "Didn't you meet the boy?"

"No, I didn't. I found it in front of my house."

Mrs. Yamanaka hummed sadly. "I'm sorry dear, I don't know. All I know is that his name is Takashi Sato, nothing else. Maybe Ino does. Apparently, she served this guy when she came here."

The pink haired girl nodded slowly before looking around and noticed her best friend's absence. "Where is she?"

"Oh, she was out just a few minutes ago. She said she went with Naruto."

Instantly, Sakura's eyes widened in surprise. Never had the thought crossed her mind that Ino and Naruto would spend time together. Maybe it had something to do with Ino helping Naruto to move on. "Naruto? Really?"

The woman nodded. "That's what she said to me."

Sakura frowned and began to wonder what are they doing. Something suddenly occurred in her mind and she felt something weird; she felt the urge to follow them. She didn't know what drove her, but she was certain that it was something she should do now.

"Do you know where are they going?" Sakura asked, a little hurried. She knew that the woman noticed her change of tone, as she looked a bit taken aback, but she didn't care.

"I'm sorry, she didn't tell me."

Hiding her disappointment, she put on a slight smile and mouthed a 'Thank you' before leaving the shop in a fast pace. Her mind was filled with the possibility of their destination. Knowing Naruto, the only place she could think of was Ichiraku Ramen. Holding her hopes high, she made her way to the shop.

After a few minutes of fast-walking, she came to an abrupt stop. She already caught the glimpse of the shop from a few feet away. She continued to walk in a slower pace. She didn't know what she would do when she reach the shop. She even didn't know whether they were really there or not.

As she was getting closer, her eyes spotted a girl with a long, blue hair outside the shop, seemingly trying to eavesdrop someone's conversation inside the ramen shop. Curious, Sakura decided to approach her. But the girl was too focused on the conversation that she didn't realize Sakura's coming.

"Hinata?" Sakura called the girl.

The blue haired girl startled and looked like she was about to faint. Her face was red from embarrassment, feeling like she was busted in doing something inappropriate. She smiled timidly. "S—Sakura-san..."

"What are you doing?"

Hinata's face was redden and she shook her head fast. "N—Nothing!"

Sakura stared at her suspiciously, before moving forward to find out herself. She could hear Ino's voice from the inside. If Ino was there, it was very likely that Naruto was there as well.

'So Hinata is listening to their conversation...' she thought.

The pink haired girl brought her ear closer, trying to follow the conversation. Soon, Hinata joined her too. She was able to catch some words that came from Ino's mouth.

"...should stop thinking about her."

Her heart stopped. She froze on her place as she let the words sunk into her. They were talking about _her. _Curious with the boy's response, she continued eavesdropping.

"I know, Ino. But I can't. It's just too hard."

"Try it. It's not that hard. Besides, it will make you feel a lot better."

Silence. Naruto didn't respond.

Sakura let out a small sigh of relief. For unknown reason, she didn't want to hear Naruto's response. She assumed that it was better that way. Sometimes, some things are just better left unknown. She turned to Hinata and asked. "Did you eavesdrop their conversation this whole time?"

Hinata blushed and chuckled sheepishly. Her attitude kind of remind her of Naruto. Maybe the girl liked him so much that she even beginning to act like him.

Unable to hold her curiousness, Sakura decided to ask her since there was no harm in doing so. "What have you heard so far?"

The petite girl was silent for a moment. "W—Well... Not much. Ino-san was only trying to convince Naruto-kun to move on."

"I see..." Sakura nodded slowly. "Nothing else?"

"N—No... I don't think so..." Hinata replied. She then heard that Ino was talking again, and she placed her index finger against her lips as a sign for Sakura to be quiet. The girl obeyed as they began eavesdropping again.

"Why don't you look for a new girl? It would help fasten the process."

Sakura felt her heartbeat quicken. Look for a new girl? Does that mean Naruto will forget about her? She knew that that was most people do when they try to move on, but the thought made her felt... a bit abandoned.

Her thoughts was interrupted as she heard Naruto's voice again. "Yeah, you're right. Maybe I will."

As she was processing the words in her mind, she felt sick. Actually, hearing all of this made her sick. She began regretting her stupid decision for coming all the way here. Hinata, however, acted the opposite. She was grinning and seemed very happy. Unlike Sakura, she didn't have any regret for coming there.

Shakily, Sakura retraced her steps backwards. She had had enough of this. If she hear one word coming from either of them, _any _word, she swore she would immediately burst into the shop and tell them to shut up.

The pink haired girl spun around and was about to leave when Hinata called her. She turned back and notice the girl's gaze was fixed on the bouquet in her hands.

"A—Are you here to give that to Naruto-kun?" she asked innocently, gesturing at the white roses.

Reflexively, she looked down at the bouquet. She didn't even remember she was still holding it. But she remembered that coming there wasn't her original plan.

Though confused of where did Hinata get the idea from, Sakura smiled and shook her head. "Don't worry, I don't like him that way."

That was almost the same sentence she said to Naruto last night. She was doubtless when she say that to him at that time, but now however, it felt different. She even started to doubt her own sincerity in saying those words. But she can't take her words back of course.

'Wait... What am I thinking?' Sakura said to herself. 'Of course I don't like Naruto! He's just a friend, Sakura. A _friend._'

Looked somewhat relieved, Hinata nodded understanding and smiled back. Sakura couldn't blame her for being happy though, considering the girl had liked Naruto in ages and she was certain that she would most likely be the one who would cheer the loudest when she heard this kind of news. Though she didn't know why she hadn't cheer up until now.

Just when Sakura was about to excuse herself to Hinata, she saw two figures coming out of Ichiraku Ramen and she recognized them in no time. Ino and Naruto were walking past them when the blonde girl noticed Sakura and Hinata's presence.

"Oh, hi!" she greeted cheerfully. "I thought I heard girl's voice from the inside. So it was you two."

Sakura was unable to respond. She and Hinata just gave the blonde an awkward smile.

Naruto turned his head and his and Sakura's eyes met. He was a bit surprised by their meeting, but remained silent. He looked to her right to find Hinata who was blushing deeply.

Seeing the girls odd behavior, Ino questioned this to them. "Um... What are you two doing?"

Sakura and Hinata exchange glances before the former let out a sheepish laugh. "Oh, nothing! Just having some girls talk." Hinata, meanwhile, only managed to give a sheepish smile.

Ino nodded slowly even though she didn't really buy the excuse. Not that it really mattered anyway, so she didn't try to push them further.

The pink haired girl stole a glance at Naruto who was looking at Hinata's direction, seemingly avoiding an eye contact with her. For unknown reason, she was disappointed by this little fact. The blue haired girl, meanwhile, had her cheeks burning red just by having Naruto looked at her, clearly unaware of his actual reason in doing so.

'And Ino said he looked happy...' Sakura muttered to herself.

"Seems you already received the bouquet," Ino suddenly said, pointing at the roses.

This time not looking down, Sakura gave a slight smile. "Yeah."

"Is that from that brown haired dude?"

Surprised by Naruto's sudden question, Sakura quickly turned to him with an arched eyebrow. She was silently happy that Naruto was still willing to talk to her, but tried to hide it. "I don't know who's this brown haired dude you're talking about, Naruto."

Ino sighed and turned to the boy. "He has a name, you know."

"Well sorry, I didn't know if he _has _a name," Naruto retorted.

The blonde girl rolled her eyes before turning back to Sakura. "His name is Takashi Sato."

"Yeah, I know that," Sakura replied. "Do you recognize him?"

"Actually, no. But he introduced himself to me as our senior back in the academy."

Sakura didn't reply. She just looked down at the bouquet. Feeling left out in the conversation, Hinata decided that she'd better go. "Um... I—I think I should go now. Kiba and Shino is probably looking for me."

They had forgotten the poor girl's presence. Ino smiled and waved at her. "Okay, see you around Hinata!"

"Y—Yeah... Bye Sakura-san, bye Naruto-kun." Hinata waved at them and left. There were only the three of them now. Sakura was beginning to feel awkward.

"W—Well, I think I should go too," she said to the couple and waved. "Bye Ino, bye Naruto."

Ino flashed her a smile which she gave to Hinata earlier and waved back. "Good bye, Sakura!"

Naruto forced a smile and waved too. "Bye Sakura-chan."

Sakura began walking back to her house. Her mind was filled with many things. Never had she thought that just by receiving this bouquet would lead into an encounter with Naruto. She just wanted to ask about this Takashi guy to Ino, that's all. While in reality she ended up following her and Naruto to Ichiraku Ramen and eavesdropping their conversation about moving on from _her. _Even she met the real bodies afterward.

The girl was too busy with her mind that she didn't realize she was already standing in front of her house. She approached the door and got in, proceeded to her bedroom in the upstairs after that. She threw the bouquet to a table and threw her limbs onto the bed's surface. She looked up at the ceiling as the thoughts came back to her.

'What exactly was that? What drove me into stalking Ino and Naruto?' she asked herself, only to get no answer.

Sakura closed her eyes and let out an exhausted sigh. Everything that happened in the past day made her feel dizzy. She was unable to comprehend some things, like her own feelings that told her not to let Ino handle Naruto's problem and the feeling that drove her into tailing both of them. It wasn't a feeling that she had experienced before, and to be frank, it wasn't a pleasant feeling.

'How in the world am I going to get rid of it?'

* * *

Author's note: I can't believe this! The response I received from all of you was amazing! Thank you so much! I love you all with all my heart. As a present, I give you this second chapter. Not a really interesting chapter, but I hope you enjoyed it :D Forgive me if you find any grammar mistake, I'm not a native english speaker.

PS. LOL. I can't make a love letter. I stole it from somewhere else.


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